(updated 2:28 P.m) The Personnel Impact Of Mike Nolan On The Miami Dolphins

January 20, 2010|Posted by Mike Berardino on January 20, 2010 10:15 AM

As one of just three teams in the NFL -- Lions and Giants are the others -- with two former NFL head coaches working as coordinators, the Miami Dolphins will have uniquely qualified resources on their sideline when they hit Mobile, Ala., to coach the Senior Bowl next week.

Dan Henning, of course, has seen and done just about everything there is to see and do in this game. And now along comes new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, who isn't just entering his 13th year running an NFL defense but also has those 3 1/2 seasons as the 49ers head coach under his belt.

With the Dolphins on the lookout for so much help on the defensive side of the ball, I thought it might be useful to look back at San Francisco's drafts under Nolan from 2005-2008 to see what kind of defensive pieces he brought in and how they have performed.

2005: The Niners went offense with their first four picks, including quarterback Alex Smith in the 1-1 slot (oops). In the fifth round, they finally got around to taking a defender: Mississippi State defensive tackle Ronald Fields, whom Nolan promptly made into a nose tackle. Fields was starting by his second year (nine starts), but fell back into a reserve role in Nolan's final two years in the Bay Area. However, when Nolan landed with the Broncos, Fields was one of a handful of unrestricted free agents Denver went out and signed to improve their putrid D. He was plugged in as the starter and made 35 tackles while playing 543 snaps for the league's 26th-ranked run defense.Pro Football Focus ranked him 65th out of 87 qualifying defensive tackles in the NFL in 2009, 18 spots below Paul Soliai. ... Sixth-rounder Derrick Johnson made five starts at cornerback as a rookie but moved on the next year.

Defensive Impact Grade: C-minus

2006: After taking Vernon (Brother of Vontae) Davis sixth overall at tight end, Nolan's Niners grabbed N.C. State defensive end Manny Lawson at No. 22. Nolan turned Lawson into a left outside linebacker and the kid made 13 starts with 2.5 sacks and 48 tackles as a rookie. Injuries slowed him in year 2, but Lawson reclaimed his starting role and is coming off a 6.5 sack season for the Niners. Pro Football Focus ranked Lawson ninth in the NFL among 3-4 OLBs, just behind Jason Taylor and Matt Roth (Cleveland version). ... Niners didn't take another defender until Round 5, when they got hard-so-spell DE Parys Haralson from Tennessee. He became a part-time starter at OLB by year 2 and has 15.5 career sacks, but PFF ranked him 23rd in the league among the 28 3-4 OLBs who played at least a quarter of their team's defensive snaps last year. That's one spot behind Joey Porter. ... Sixth-rounder Marcus Hudson, a CB out of N.C. State, has never started a game in the NFL but is still hanging on as a special teamer with the Niners.

Defensive Impact Grade: B

2007: Cha-ching! Six of the Niners' nine picks were spent on defense, starting with Ole Miss standout Patrick Willis (pictured) at No. 11 overall. Yes, that Willis, the one who has averaged 120 tackles his first three years in the league, the one whom PFF rated as the top 3-4 ILB in the league. Willis has nine total sacks and six forced fumbles to this point. Yeah, I'd say Nolan nailed that one. ... Nolan then took five defensive players in a span of 50 picks, starting with former Florida DE Ray McDonald (third round). McDonald -- given name Raymondo -- became a part-time starter by year 2 but has since dropped into a backup role. Another ex-Gator, NT Joe Cohen (fourth), has bounced around to various practice squads and was a training camp cut of the Dolphins last summer. ... DE Jay Moore (fourth round, Nebraska) failed to launch. ... Fourth-rounder Dashon Goldson out of Washington has turned into a starting free safety. He had four interceptions and 77 tackles last year. ... Tarell Brown, a fifth-round CB out of Texas, made four starts last season and continues to show potential.

Defensive Impact Grade: A

2008: Just six picks for the Niners in Nolan's final draft, and he split them evenly on both sides of the ball. North Carolina defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer was the first-rounder, No. 29 overall. He has yet to start a game in the NFL and played just 177 snaps last year in a reserve role. ... Third-rounder Reggie Smith, a corner from Oklahoma, played just eight defense snaps all last season but has seen limited action as a punt returner. ... Seventh rounder Larry Grant, a linebacker from Ohio State, was cut and is a reserve in St. Louis.

Defensive Impact Grade: D

In a later blog we'll take a look at the impact Nolan's suggestions may have had on Denver's aggressive push into free agency last spring.

For now, though, judging from the above breakdown, how much more or less confidence do you have in Nolan's ability to help the Trifecta find the right impact pieces on defense?

UPDATE, 2:28 P.M.: Even if you have doubts about Nolan's knack for finding the right personnel through the draft, this report out of Boston should give you a better feeling about why Nolan and the Broncos opted for a mutual separation.